Nick Rocha prepares an iced Neapolitan latte for a woman who looks stressed and hurried. He asks her what she had planned that day, the two chat for a minute and exchange names. The woman leaves with a smile on her face and Juju’s Coffee’s signature dark chocolate and strawberry drink in her hand.
Across the counter sits Julia, Rocha’s wife and the shop’s namesake and silhouetted logo. She’s fully engaged in a conversation with a man in an orange polo, only breaking stride for a sip of coffee.
This is Nick and Julia’s dream.
The love behind Juju’s Coffee, which recently opened a storefront in Lakewood, really started when the Rochas were in college at the University of North Texas.
“I was the nerd that made people pour overs in my dorm,” he says. “That’s how we dated, we would try new coffee shops.”
Throughout their relationship, coffee has been a constant.
“From hanging out and studying as friends to going on dates, to planning our wedding; we were always in a coffee shop,” she says. “I always knew we would do something entrepreneurial, but I never thought it would be coffee.”
The couple acquired an airstream trailer in Amarillo. When they began to fully renovate it, their vision was to turn it into a mobile coffee camper.
“Every weekend, I would drive six hours back and forth between Denton and Amarillo to renovate the airstream,” he says. “It ended up taking a year and a half to renovate it.”
As the airstream began to take shape, the Rochas considered how they could make their brand stand out.
“A lot of food trucks have just a tiny window that they open and close,” he says. “We wanted a huge window where you could talk to us. No matter where we went in the airstream, you could see us and we would be having a conversation the whole time.”
Their first pop-up event with the airstream was on Mother’s Day last year in McKinney. It was successful enough to parlay into many more pop-ups over the next year.
The couple never refers to it as “the airstream.”
Its name is Otis.
“My truck’s name is Darla. Julia’s car’s name is Malcolm Eugene,” he explains. “Whenever we got the trailer, we had to name it. So we named it Otis. I don’t know why.”
Otis has its own drink at Juju’s too, a sweet blend of vanilla and brown sugar with oat milk that can be served iced or hot.
Until April 2023, Otis lattes were served exclusively out of the airstream at pop-ups until the Lakewood storefront opened. The Rochas weren’t sure if they’d ever have a physical shop.
“We are treading unknown waters,” she says. “I have to be confident in my abilities to figure things out. I am growing more comfortable in the uncomfortable.”
The uncomfortable has spawned several regular customers.
“People come in here stressed, worried. Major life events are happening, but they’re all coming to get coffee,” he says. “I get to stop them in their tracks, have a conversation with them, make sure they’re ready for their day. If we could have people feel better about themselves when leaving here, that’s our goal.”
“Coffee is nothing without people,” she says.
Juju’s Coffee, 6038 La Vista Dr, 806.676.5385
